CFP for Adapting Superman: Essays on the Man of Steel in a Transmedia Context

Deadline for submissions: Aug. 1, 2019

Full name / name of organization:

John Darowski

Contact email:

adaptingsuperman@gmail.com

The editor of Adapting Superman is seeking abstracts for essays that could be included in an upcoming collection. Essays should examine the practices of adaptation and the relationship between stories or characters among the DC comic books featuring Superman and various media, including but not limited to: film, television, cartoon, radio, novel, comic strip, and video games. Analysis should demonstrate adaptation theory as applied to the particular techniques utilized in moving from a comic book into a different medium. Proposals which demonstrate how particular adaptation or set of adaptations reflect and critique their contemporary culture may also be considered.

Potential chapter topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

- Superman’s Transmedia Origin: Building the Mythos across Media Platforms

- The Man of Steel on the Airwaves

- The Man of Tomorrow on the Technology of Tomorrow: The Adventures of Superman on the Small Screen

- Superhero to Soap Opera in Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

- From Mad Scientist to Businessman: Recasting Lex Luthor on Superman: The Animated Series

- Smallville: Recreating the Superman Mythos for the Twenty-First Century

- Superman Goes Dark: Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel in a Post-9/11 World

- Tyrant Superman in Injustice: Gods among Us

Essays should focus on adaptations that heavily feature Superman or characters closely associated with Superman. Superman’s appearances as part of a team, such as film or cartoon Justice League, or being featured in episodes of non-related series, such as cartoon Batman Beyond, would be acceptable topics for analysis. Similarly, essays focusing on key characters such as Lois Lane or Lex Luthor would also be welcome in this collection. Topics should be limited in scope, examining the transmedia movement from one medium to another (e.g. comic book to film) or compare and contrast works within a single medium in context (e.g. 1978’s Superman: The Movie v. 2013’s Man of Steel). Completed essays should be approximately 15-20 double-spaced pages in MLA format.

Submissions should be sent to John Darowski at adaptingsuperman@gmail.com.